Storage device for optical storage media

ABSTRACT

A storage device for optical media comprises a body defining an upper surface. A plurality of adjacent slots formed in the upper surface of the body extend in a first direction from the upper surface and define upper guiding cavities and lower engaging cavities. The upper guiding cavities guide optical media into the lower engaging cavities, which have openings to the upper cavities. The lower engaging cavities engage lower arcuate portions of the optical media. The lower engaging cavities independently support the optical media in the adjacent slots in a parallel relationship when the storage device is located on a flat supporting surface. The lower engaging cavities have a trapezoidal-shaped cross section. The upper cavities have a generally “U”-shaped cross section.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to storage devices, and more particularlyto storage devices for optical storage media.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Optical storage media such as compact discs (CDs), digital versatilediscs (DVDs), and optical media for future data formats store digitalcontent such as music, video, still pictures, software and other data.Playback devices such as CD players/recorders, DVD players/recorders,computers, and gaming devices use a laser to read back digital contentthat is stored on the optical storage media. Optical storage media suchas CDs and DVDs are meant to be stored in jewel cases or otherprotective storage devices such as CD and DVD wallets and/or albums.However, users tend to leave the optical storage media outside of thejewel cases or other protective storage devices.

For example, uncased CDs are often left sitting in a vehicle, on top ofa computer desk and/or near an entertainment center where they areplayed. When the user removes the CD from the player, it takes time tolocate the correct jewel case for the CD. During busy times, it may beinconvenient to locate the correct jewel case or other protectivestorage devices. Sometimes, a user will temporarily store the CD in theincorrect jewel case, which often makes it difficult to find the CDlater. As a result, the CDs may be left unprotected, stacked on top ofeach other, etc. The failure to properly care for the CDs may damage theCDs. In addition, the loose CDs may clutter the area around the computerdesk or entertainment center. It also may be difficult for the user tolocate a particular CD quickly.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary optical medium 10 is shown. CDstypically have a diameter of 120 mm and a center hole having a diameterof 15 mm. Data is usually stored from a radius of 25 mm (after a lead-inportion) to a radius of 58 mm (where a lead-out portion begins). Thedata on the CD is divided into three areas. The lead-in portion (fromradius 23 mm to 25 mm) contains digital silence in the main channel anda Table of Contents in a subcode Q-channel. The lead-in portion alsoallows a laser pickup head of the playback device to synchronize beforethe start of a program portion. The length of the lead-in portion mayvary. The lead-in portion provides sufficient space for the Table ofContents, which may include up to 99 tracks.

The program portion (from the radius at 25 mm to the radius at 58 mm)contains data that divided into tracks. A lead-out portion contains zerodata and defines the end of the program portion. Optical media istypically rotated at a constant linear velocity (CLV). The angularvelocity (rpm) reduces from the lead-in portion to the lead-out portion.In other words, pits retain the same geometry wherever they reside onthe CD.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A storage device according to the present invention for optical mediacomprises a body defining an upper surface. A plurality of adjacentslots formed in the upper surface of the body extend in a firstdirection from the upper surface and define upper guiding cavities andlower engaging cavities. The upper guiding cavities guide optical mediainto the lower engaging cavities, which have openings to the uppercavities. The lower engaging cavities engage lower arcuate portions ofthe optical media.

In other features, the lower engaging cavities independently support theoptical media in the adjacent slots in a parallel relationship when thestorage device is located on a flat supporting surface. The lowerengaging cavities have a trapezoidal-shaped cross section. The pluralityof slots are generally parallel to each other.

In still other features, a first width of the upper guiding cavitiesgenerally decreases with a depth of the upper guiding cavities. A secondwidth of the lower engaging cavities generally decreases with a depth ofthe lower engaging cavities. A third width of the lower engagingcavities adjacent to the opening is greater than a fourth width adjacentto a bottom surface of the lower engaging cavities. The fourth width isbetween 1.25 mm and 1.5 mm. The slots are spaced at a fifth width thatis greater than 10 mm and less than 25 mm.

In yet other features, the upper cavities have a generally “U”-shapedcross section. The optical media includes at least one of compact discsand digital versatile discs. Opposite sides of the body include agenerally “C”-shaped recess. Opposite side walls of thetrapezoidal-shaped cavities are sloped at an angle that is greater than0° relative to a line that is perpendicular to the flat supportingsurface. The lower engaging cavities have a depth that is between 10 mmand 14 mm at a center of the body and wherein the depth decreasestowards opposite sides of the body.

Further areas of applicability of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended forpurposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective and cross-sectional view of an exemplary opticalmedium;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first storage device for optical mediaaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the first storage device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the first storage device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the first storage device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side view of the first storage device of FIG. 1 that storesoptical media;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second storage device for opticalmedia;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the second storage device of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an end view of the second storage device of FIG. 7 storing anexemplary optical medium;

FIG. 10 is a side view of the second storage device of FIG. 7 storingoptical media;

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of the second storage device of FIG. 7storing optical media;

FIGS. 12A and 12B show enlarged cross sectional views of slots; and

FIGS. 13A and 13B show a contact region for the storage devices in FIGS.1 and 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following description of the preferred embodiment(s) is merelyexemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention,its application, or uses. For purposes of clarity, the same referencenumbers will be used in the drawings to identify similar elements.

Referring now to FIGS. 2-6, a storage device 20 for storing opticalstorage media according the present invention is shown. The storagedevice 20 includes a body 22 having an upwardly facing surface 24, endsurfaces 28 and 30 and side surfaces 32 and 34. The end surfaces 28 and30 have lower edges 38 and 40, respectively, that are generally parallelto each other and that abut a flat supporting surface 50 (FIG. 5) suchas a table, play back device or other surface when the storage device 20is placed thereon. In one implementation, the side surfaces 32 and 34have generally “C”-shaped recesses 46 and 48 to reduce the amount ofmaterial that is required to produce the storage device 20. However, theside portions 32 and 34 may optionally extend to a plane defined by theflat supporting surface 50.

The storage device 20 defines a plurality of slots 44-1, 44-2, 44-3, . .. 44-N (collectively slots 44), which are arranged in a generallyparallel relationship. Each slot 44 is adapted to receive an opticalmedium 10 such as a CD, DVD, and optical media having future dataformats. As will be described further below, the slots 44 support theoptical media 10 in a spaced apart relationship. The slots 44 arepreferably spaced apart by a sufficient distance to allow the user toeasily grab the optical medium 10 without grabbing or otherwisedisturbing the optical media 10 stored in adjacent slots. In oneembodiment, the slots are spaced between 10 mm and 25 mm apart. In apreferred embodiment, the slots are spaced 15 mm to 18 mm.

The slots 44 define an upper generally “U”-shaped cavity 60 and a lowertrapezoidal-shaped cavity 64. The “U”-shaped cavity 60 has a width thatdecreases with the depth of the “U”-shaped cavity 60. The lowertrapezoidal-shaped cavity 64 also has a width that decreases with thedepth of the lower trapezoidal-shaped cavity 64. The lower cavity 64 hasa depth of approximately 2 mm. In one embodiment, side walls of thelower trapezoidal-shaped cavity form an angle with respect to a lineperpendicular to the plane 50 that is greater than 0° and less than 5°.In a preferred embodiment, the angle is greater than 0° and less than1°. In the embodiment in FIGS. 2-6, the angle is 0.5°. The angled sidewalls reduce the likelihood that the optical media 10 will get stuck inthe lower trapezoidal-shaped cavity 64. The angled sidewalls alsofacilitate removal of the storage device from a mold when the storagedevice 10 is produced.

Referring now to FIGS. 7-10, a perspective view of a second storagedevice 100 for optical media is shown. The storage device 100 includes abody 102, upwardly facing surface 124, end surfaces 128 and 130 and sidesurfaces 132 and 134. The end surfaces 128 and 130 have lower edges 138and 140, respectively, that are generally parallel to each other andthat abut a flat supporting surface 150 (FIG. 10). In oneimplementation, the side surfaces 132 and 134 have generally “C”-shapedrecesses 146 and 148. However, the side portions 132 and 134 may extendto a plane defined by the flat supporting surface 150.

The storage device 120 defines a plurality of slots 144-1, 144-2, 144-3,. . . 144-N (collectively slots 144), which are arranged in a generallyparallel relationship. Each slot 144 is adapted to receive an opticalmedium 10 such as a CD, DVD, and optical media having future dataformats. As will be described further below, the slots 144 support theoptical media in a spaced apart relationship. The slots 144 arepreferably spaced apart by a sufficient distance to allow a user toeasily grab the optical medium 10 without grabbing or otherwisedisturbing the optical media 10 stored in adjacent slots. The body 102defines an elliptical surface 156 that meets with a groove 158 thatreceives and guides the optical media 10. In this embodiment, theupwardly facing surface 124 is defined by the body 102 between the slots144.

Referring now to FIGS. 11, 12A and 12B, the slots 144 have an uppergenerally “U”-shaped cavity 160 and a lower trapezoidal-shaped cavity164. The “U”-shaped cavity 160 has a width that decreases with the depthof the “U”-shaped cavity 160. The “U”-shaped cavity 160 guides theoptical media 10 into the lower trapezoidal-shaped cavity 164. The lowertrapezoidal-shaped cavity 64 has a width d4 that decreases with thedepth of the lower trapezoidal-shaped cavity 164 to a minimum width d3,which is greater than the width of the optical medium 10. In otherwords, d4>d3. In one embodiment, side walls of the trapezoidal-shapedcavity 164 form an angle with respect to a line perpendicular to thesupporting surface 56 that is greater than 0° and less than 5°. In apreferred embodiment, the angle greater than 0° and less than 1°. Theangle is approximately 0.5° in FIGS. 7-10. The dimension d3 ispreferably a bit larger than the thickness of the optical media. Forexample, d3 is between 1.25 and 1.40 mm. The angled sides reduce thelikelihood that the optical media 10 will get stuck in the lowertrapezoidal-shaped cavity 164. The angled sidewalls also facilitateremoval of the storage device 100 from a mold when the storage device isproduced. The depth d2 of the lower trapezoidal-shaped cavity 164 isbetween 8 mm and 20 mm. In a preferred embodiment, d2 is between 10 and14 mm. In FIGS. 7-10, d2 is 12 mm at the center and reduces to zero atthe sides. The spacing d1 between adjacent slots 144 is between 10 mmand 20 mm. Preferably, the spacing d1 is 14 mm to 20 mm.

The storage devices 20 and 100 provide an easy-to-use temporary storagelocation for optical media 10. The storage devices 20 and 100 protectthe optical media 10 as well as eliminate location clutter around thecomputer desk, entertainment center and other locations. The opticalmedia 10 is protected until returned to permanent storage devices suchas jewel cases, CD albums, etc. The storage device 20 is also ideallysuited for staging optical media for the copying and/or softwareinstallation. For example, when installing software such as an operatingsystem, the optical media may be lined up in order in successive slots.When copying optical media 10, two storage devices may be used tofurther simplify the copying process. One storage device 20 is used tohold the blanks and another storage device holds the originals. Usingthis approach makes it easier to track.

The storage device is molded from plastic and has a thickness between 1mm and 3 mm. In a preferred embodiment, the body has a thickness of 2mm. The plastic material may polycarbonate, acrylic or similarmaterials. One or more bumpers 180 for example shown in FIG. 4 mayextend downwardly from the body to reduce inadvertent sliding of thestorage devices 20 and 100. While five and six slots are shown,additional and/or fewer slots may be used. The storage device isdesigned to minimize contact between the storage devices 20 and 100 andthe optical media 10 to reduce scratching. For example and referring toFIG. 13A, the data stored on optical medium starts at the center of theoptical medium and can occupy up to the outer 2 mm of radius as shown inFIG. 1. The last 2 mm of radius is the area that the storage device 20according to the present invention contacts area 200 when the opticalmedia 10 is seated in the slots 44 and 144. As a result, there is a veryminimal chance that using the storage devices 20 and 100 will scratchthe optical media 10. In FIG. 13B, a contact area 202 corresponding tothe storage device 100 in FIGS. 7-10 is shown.

Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoingdescription that the broad teachings of the present invention can beimplemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this invention hasbeen described in connection with particular examples thereof, the truescope of the invention should not be so limited since othermodifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon astudy of the drawings, the specification and the following claims.

1. A storage device for optical media, comprising: a body defining anupper surface; a plurality of adjacent slots formed in said uppersurface of said body that extend in a first direction from said uppersurface and that define upper guiding cavities and lower engagingcavities, wherein said upper guiding cavities guide optical media intosaid lower engaging cavities, which have openings to said uppercavities, wherein said lower engaging cavities engage lower arcuateportions of said optical media.
 2. The storage device of claim 1 whereinsaid lower engaging cavities independently support said optical media insaid adjacent slots in a parallel relationship when said storage deviceis located on a flat supporting surface.
 3. The storage device of claim1 wherein said lower engaging cavities have a trapezoidal-shaped crosssection.
 4. The storage device of claim 1 wherein said plurality ofslots are generally parallel to each other.
 5. The storage device ofclaim 1 wherein a first width of said upper guiding cavities generallydecreases with a depth of said upper guiding cavities.
 6. The storagedevice of claim 1 wherein a second width of said lower engaging cavitiesgenerally decreases with a depth of said lower engaging cavities.
 7. Thestorage device of claim 3 wherein a third width of said lower engagingcavities adjacent to said opening is greater than a fourth widthadjacent to a bottom surface of said lower engaging cavities.
 8. Thestorage device of claim 7 wherein said fourth width is between 1.25 mmand 1.5 mm.
 9. The storage device of claim 1 wherein said slots arespaced at a fifth width that is greater than 10 mm and less than 25 mm.10. The storage device of claim 1 wherein said upper cavities have agenerally “U”-shaped cross section.
 11. The storage device of claim 1wherein said optical media includes at least one of compact discs anddigital versatile discs.
 12. The storage device of claim 1 whereinopposite sides of said body include a generally “C”-shaped recess. 13.The storage device of claim 2 wherein opposite side walls of saidtrapezoidal-shaped cavities are sloped at an angle that is greater than0° relative to a line that is perpendicular to the flat supportingsurface.
 14. The storage device of claim 1 wherein said lower engagingcavities have a depth that is between 10 mm and 14 mm at a center ofsaid body and wherein said depth decreases towards opposite sides ofsaid body.
 15. A storage device for optical media, comprising: a bodydefining an upper surface, end surfaces and side surfaces; and aplurality of adjacent slots that are formed in said upper surface ofsaid body that include upper cavities having generally “U”-shaped crosssections and lower cavities having generally trapezoidal-shaped crosssections, wherein a first width of said upper cavities decreases with adepth of said slots, a second width of said lower cavities decreaseswith a depth of said slots, and said lower cavities engage one of“C”-shaped and “D”-shaped arcuate portions of said optical media, andwherein said lower cavities independently support said optical mediawhen said storage device is located on a flat supporting surface. 16.The storage device of claim 15 wherein said lower cavities have a thirdwidth adjacent to an upper opening thereof that is greater than a fourthwidth adjacent to a bottom surface of said lower cavities.
 17. Thestorage device of claim 15 wherein said optical media includes at leastone of compact discs and digital versatile discs.
 18. The storage deviceof claim 15 wherein opposite sides of said body include a generally“C”-shaped recess.
 19. The storage device of claim 15 wherein oppositeside walls of said trapezoidal-shaped cavities are sloped at an anglethat is greater than 0° relative to a line that is perpendicular to theflat supporting surface.